Hazing in Greek Life - Page 3

Cool. Humiliation leads to fearlessness and also contributes to earning one's lot in life. Never know what I'm going to learn on the styleforvmz.

This is very reasonable. Like I said, I don't think there's anything wrong with the "be a senior brother's go-fer" type hazing, but anything that's dangerous should be off limits. You just can't truly control it enough to make it safe.

Also, props to you for actually listening. Like so many "advice" threads, this could have turned into a flame war with you defending an untenable position, but you actually paid attention to the advice and heeded it. I respect that.

Most of the hazing I endured when I went through it in the fall of 1999 was mostly mind-related. I was never forced to drink or do anything too stupid.

I was in my 30's when I finally went to college. Don't know what the Frats did and really had no desire to join as they had nothing to offer me. I'm with most of the other older posters here, the stupid stuff is pretty harmless but the alcohol stuff is not. But I'm guessing it will take the OP a few years before he reaches a level where he realizes this. BTW I guess I never would have made it because once I puke I'm done. I've never been able to puke and then go back to drinking.

alcohol is not the only way in which hazing is dangerous. a fraternity at my school played a game where they took all their pledges out in the woods, tied glowsticks to them, and had them run around while brothers with bats swung at them. some kid ended up rupturing a kidney and almost bleeding to death.

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couple of people from my high school were convicted of homicide in the early 90s for the death of a pledge in their law school frat. there was just mild physicality (compared to other fraternities) but they didn't know the guy had some heart condition or something, and he just dropped dead.

I don't think highly of frats, but I'm a firm believer in hazing. It inevitably gets out of hand, but it's good fun until then and provides a great way to bond. Note: haven't read the rest of the thread.

Very few extra-curricular organizations in university are cost-free. Most student groups that provide any real value have costs they need to cover. Greeks organizations have insurance costs, unfortunately, as well, which must be covered. I believe every single one of any size is a registered non-profit and charity. The only extra-curricular groups I know of that are essentially free to their members would be sports team, and obviously their costs are paid for by others, due to the perceived value they provide to the university.

Hazing is a product of the GI bill after WW2. Prior to this there is not much evidence for hazing, as I understand it, directly from my mentor, who designs programming for Greek orgs. The GI bill brought back soldiers who'd built hazing rituals, and who figured they would do well to pass these on to their new friends. Hazing really has no value of any type, and while I know a very small number of activities that seem to fall outside the typical definition of hazing have been banned for liability reasons, almost all stereotypical hazing behaviour is totally unnecessary. I was not hazed, and as President of my chapter, would not allow hazing. If I ever heard of it from my chapter now, I would see to it that the members responsible were expelled from the organization.

Joining my fraternity was the single most rewarding thing I did during university. I am with Brothers nearly every day, five years after graduation, and even today one remarked to me how amazing it is that unlike almost every independent he knows, he still talks to a dozen or more university friends, simply because of the fraternity. Further to that, I had a ready-made network available to me upon graduation, and I know of a half dozen guys in my relatively small city from my fraternity in my field who I keep in touch with and receive advice from on a regular basis.

The fraternity experience isn't perfect, nor is it the only way to achieve the sort of outcomes I've achieved. Additionally, I admit that for me, the jury is still out as to the net benefit for the average male. For women and sororities, I truly wonder, given the difference in the way they operate and the bad experience several women I know have had. But for me, a fairly extroverted person who wanted more out of university, my fraternity membership is something I value.

fwiw i am in a frat and it was an ok experience. haven't had time the last year to be active though. the worst hazing stories ive heard are about sororities, but they're more damaging in a psychological, not psychical way

My best friends ended up sharing a common room between two dorm rooms with a guy that was in a frat. He ended up becoming one of my good friends, so we went to Greek parties through him. Most of them were pretty lame, and always had a long line of drunks waiting 20 minutes to get a beer from a keg. The best parties I went to in college were not frat parties.

I'm not in a frat, but I party a lot (especially compared to kids I go to school with) but the op is a fucking idiot, I literally don't know where to begin.